FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Three or four times while browsing on the internet Buck had come across a certain kind of picture that made his eyes feel... weird. Like there was too much to focus on at the same time so his brain had trouble trying to single out every specific item. Instead, he saw a mishmash of familiar parts - they seemed to be a whole thing, rather than individual objects. Like staring at the picture of a crowd and trying to perceive every single person specifically, the details escaped him.

Now, staring at Zeki's massive collection of plushies, he had a similar feeling. There were so many that he couldn't actually see any of them unless he stepped forward and examined them closer.

"So when did you start collecting these?" he asked. When his friend had told him he'd like to show him his collection, he hadn't expected it to be so enormous. Buying all of those must have taken years.

"Oh, I started when I was ten or eleven years old," the dragon admitted, chuckling. He made sure one of the plushies that sat on the first row was sitting straight and then petted its head. "I don't know what hit me, but I decided I wanted to get as many as I could. Of course, I don't just get any plushy, you know? I only get those that I really like."

"Of course."

"That one, for instance, I won at a carnival fair," Zeki explained, pointing at a small caribou with a baseball cap that had a big smile on its face. "You know, they say the plushies you get at carnivals are lower quality than those you buy, but so far that one's been hanging there like a champ. Not a single stain or rip."

"It's cute, too," Buck admitted. "Reminds me of a certain other caribou."

"Yeah, only he's not blue," Zeki pointed out. Still smiling, he pointed at another plushy that looked like a sabertooth and mentioned. "That's the softest, though."

"Really? It doesn't look like it."

"Well, sometimes the softest plushies don't look like they're going to be soft," the dragon said, shrugging. "And they end up being really soft anyway. You wanna touch?"

Buck nodded. He had agreed to see Zeki's collection partly because of the dragon's insistence, but also because he'd been mentioning it for so long that the caribou had ended up gaining some interest of his own.

Besides, plushies were cute little things. He'd never gathered such a huge collection, but he could definitely see the appeal of the soft stuffed creatures. As he took a step closer and placed one hand on the scruffy-looking sabertooth's head, he realized Zeki was right.

"Damn. It's really soft," he whispered. He petted the small head. "I could leave my hand here all day, you know. I have no idea how they manage to make these things so soft. Or how you take care of them to keep them like this."

Zeki chuckled, a knowing grin on his lips. He seemed to share the same question and feelings towards that specific plushy.

"I really like this one, though," Buck said then, pointing at a black and red dragon that sat on the shelf, legs spread open comfortably as it looked forward with a big, dopey smile on its adorable little face. "Reminds me of you."

"Oh, yeah, that one." Zeki scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "A friend of mine found it in a shop and decided it looked a bit like me, so he decided to buy it."

Buck examined it closer. Apart from the fact that it was a black and red dragon, there wasn't much the plushy shared with Zeki. However, now that he thought about it, Buck remembered seeing the dragon as he sat in a similar position... with a different expression, maybe, but still similarly enough. He could see why that friend had decided they looked the same. They kinda gave the same vibe.

"I don't get it, if you ask me," Zeki muttered, looking down. "It's just another dragon, right?"

"Yeah," Buck agreed, although he could actually see the resemblance.

Apparently, being compared to that plushy gave Zeki a very noticeable blush. Buck decided to remember it. Maybe there was some way to tease him about that in the near future...

He hadn't even started thinking about that when an idea hit his mind. The caribou made a huge effort not to grin so that his intentions would remain unclear, but he managed to keep a neutral expression. Sharing his thoughts would only ruin the mystery anyway.

The only thing he needed was an excuse to get his dragon friend to sit down. It turned out, Zeki accidentally came up with one before he did.

"Well, enough of all the plushies," he said, chuckling softly. Buck could tell he was forcing himself to look away. "I could stand here talking about each of them for days, and I don't want to bore you."

"Uh, you're not boring me," Buck assured, smiling. "But yeah. Hearing each and every plushy's individual story might be too much, even for me."

Zeki nodded.

"Should we watch a few more episodes, then? We're about to finish the season."

That's a good idea, yeah, the caribou thought. He could work with that.

They'd been watching a show together during the last few days. It had been Zeki's excuse to show his collection, and now the same thing could be an excuse for Buck to play some of the shenanigans he'd had in mind for a while.

"Yeah, let's go. I feel like slumping on the couch for a while."

"Feeling lazy today, huh?" Zeki asked, nudging the caribou with an elbow.

"Heh, heh. Yeah, maybe a bit."

They both walked down the dragon's corridor into the living room. Zeki kept his place the same way he kept his plushie collection - it was well taken care of, looked clean and over all felt like a comfy space to just relax for a while. As Buck sat on the couch next to his friend, he thought the cozy atmosphere could only make thing easier for him.

His eyes moved to Zeki as his friend slumped on the couch next to him, legs spread just like the plushy on his shelf. There it is, he thought. It seemed the friend that had bought that one plushy to Zeki really knew him. He was still thinking about that when he noticed something that had gone unnoticed by him until that very moment.

"Ooooh, someone's gotten a bit fluffier, hmm?" he asked, pointing at the dragon's belly.

Zeki looked back at him and tried to find the words to answer, quite obviously taken off-guard by the comment.

"U-uh... what do you mean?"

"This." Buck placed his hand on the dragon's belly, who squirmed a bit and blushed. The caribou couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. "Oh, come on! It's not a bad thing. I think it's kinda cute, actually."

"Shut up..."

The dragon was trying hard not to look directly at Buck now, although the caribou could tell he knew looking away would only make things more awkward. He chuckled and patted Zeki's belly, trying to reassure him.

"It's okay, really! And I mean it, it's adorable."

"Hmph. Yeah, I might have let myself go a bit..."

"Not a completely bad thing if you ask me," Buck insisted. He decided maybe now was as good a moment as any other to begin playing with his friend. "The dragon's been getting all soft and squishy, hmm?"

"It's a recent thing..." Zeki assured, crossing his arms on his chest.

Buck believed him - his friend would hit the gym quite frequently in the past. Maybe he'd been focusing too much on his plushy collection these days and he'd kept postponing it. Or maybe there was some other reason for it. Plushies were a big part of his life, but they weren't all his life.

Not yet, at least.

Whatever it was, the caribou thought his friend's new-found belly made him look a bit cuter. He had to stop himself from hugging him right there and then, although he definitely felt the impulse. If things went according to plan, there would be plenty of time for that later.

"You're one hundred percent more huggable now," he admitted. "Maybe you should consider leaving this permanently".

He poked the dragon's belly as he said those words. Zeki's blush only got more intense.

"You... you really think so?"

"Yeah! It doesn't look bad on you, y'know? And as I said, it only makes you softer and squishier."

Zeki gulped and tried to put himself together. Buck allowed him a few seconds to collect himself and try to hide that red blush behind his black, fluffy cheeks.

"Yeah, you said that," the dragon mentioned, chuckling nervously.

He turned his gaze to Buck again and noticed the caribou had already been looking at his face. The dragon's eyes met his friend's and for a while he felt slightly more comfortable... They'd known each other for a while, after all. Why would he feel nervous around Buck?

"Yeah, you're looking very soft right now," the caribou said. His voice sounded slightly more monotone, imperative - but not enough as to make the sentence feel awkward.

Zeki didn't think about it. A nod came naturally to his head.

"Yeah," he answered. He would have lied if he'd said he wasn't.

Maybe it was Buck's gaze, which seemed to pierce straight into his, or the fact that he was still thinking about his plushies, but soft was a concept that he couldn't shake off his mind right now. It seemed to be there, moving in circles, as he tried to think of something else to say.

Buck's hand was still on his belly. Zeki thought it felt nice, pressing gently against his fur and skin. The caribou, meanwhile, decided there was no reason to delay his plans any longer.

"I have a feeling you'd really enjoy being a soft, adorable plushy. Don't you agree, Zeki?"

A pinch of confusion pierced its way through the softness and Zeki frowned, bewildered.

"A... plushy?" he repeated. He wasn't sure he understood what Buck meant.

He wasn't a plushy, right? Or did he mean the one he kept on his shelf that looked like him?

Buck's grin got slightly wider.

"Yeah. Just like the ones you have in your shelf. You're so soft and squishy I bet you'd like to feel just as small, adorable and cozy as them. What do you think?"

Zeki tried to think. Buck's eyes were still staring right into his. The caribou moved his head almost imperceptibly and a weird flicker seemed to flash right outside the dragon's field of vision - up, up from Buck's eyes, where his antlers were supposed to be. Zeki wasn't sure he understood what was going on, but he felt nice. Those eyes were really nice to look into.

Maybe he'd been looking forward to sitting on the couch next to his friend or maybe it was a completely different thing. Soft was still a concept he could understand perfectly well, though. His mind kept going back to the moment he'd pet the sabertooth plushy's head, so soft and nice at the touch. He'd done that thousands of times. He could keep that feeling in his thoughts forever if he wanted to, re-living the moment over and over again.

And right now, that was a very easy thing to do. What was Buck saying?

"A plushy," he repeated, this time a bit less interrogatively.

"Yeah, that exactly," the caribou said.

Buck had been watching the changes in Zeki's expression for the past few seconds. They weren't very noticeable, but they definitely were there. A bit less tension on the dragon's jaw as it began to unclench and his shoulders sank. A certain glassiness on his eyes or the familiar drowsiness in his voice as words became slower. The dragon was leaning back more and more against the comfy couch, his confused gaze still glued to Buck's.

It could be a quick process if he wanted to, but the caribou had decided to take his time.

Zeki was still trying to understand where that conversation was going anyway. It was difficult to figure out that complicated stuff when all he could think about was soft. Again, something seemed to gleam when his eyes weren't there to see. Antlers, he thought. Somewhere. Somewhere he couldn't see.

"You'd really enjoy that," Buck affirmed.

"Mmmhm..." Zeki agreed. This time, the answer came with a soft sigh as his body relaxed further into the couch.

It wasn't a bad prospect. Being a plushy, sitting on a shelf and just chilling for as long as he needed.

"So why don't you imagine how that'd feel for me?" Buck asked.

"I'm already doing it," Zeki admitted, his clumsy tongue slurring the words a bit.

Those eyes were still looking straight into his and there was a certain... something. He couldn't put it into words, but he felt like the softness was somewhere deep within those pupils and maybe if he kept staring he'd know exactly where. But the gleam on those imaginary antlers that he wasn't seeing, yet he could feel, distracted him yet again - and when he focused back on those eyes he had the weirdest sensation that things were getting twice as soft, twice as comfortable. Heavy.

Just like a plushy dragon sitting on the shelf, looking forward, waiting for someone to stroke its soft fur. Did plushies feel soft because they were sitting there, staring vacantly or did they sit there, staring vacantly because they felt so soft?

Zeki didn't know.

Buck grinned as he watched his friend's mind get tangled in those thoughts. One of his hands kept idly stroking the dragon's belly, as the other moved to his head and patted it gently. The caribou gently moved Zeki's head right and left, up and down, helping that neck release all the tension it was keeping to itself. When he finished doing the slow motions, the dragon's face looked even more relaxed.

His eyelids were drooping down, mouth open as the tip of his tongue threatened to stick out of his open lips. If it weren't for Buck's paw holding his head, his chin would be probably resting comfortably against that wide chest of his. The eyes were looking glassier now as they stared deeply into Buck's deep pupils.

The caribou chuckled softly.

"You'd like being a plushy, wouldn't you?"

There was a weak attempt of a nod.

"And you can imagine how that'd feel perfectly."

Zeki could. Right now, the only thing his mind could think about was how soft it must feel to just...

"... and you're a plushy, aren't you?"

"Hmph... I'm not..." Zeki muttered helplessly, but Buck's voice cut through his sentence.

"You see, sometimes the softest plushies don't look like they're going to be soft." The sentence felt familiar, but Zeki wasn't entirely sure when or where he'd heard it before. It echoed in the empty walls inside his head. "And they end up being really soft anyway. Don't you think?"

It made sense, the dragon thought weakly.

"You're a plushy, aren't you?"

Zeki tried to nod again. Soft. His neck felt so weak and powerless.

"And you love being a plushy, don't you."

"Nngghh..."

His mouth wanted to answer since his head couldn't, but it felt like his tongue was just as weak and relaxed as the rest of his body. Just a piece of cloth hanging limply from his mouth, another part of his body that refused to move unless someone came and made it move. Waiting, sitting on that shelf.

Yes, he could imagine that. So soft.

"Zeki is a plushy," Buck's voice rang in his ears, closer than he'd expected it to be.

The caribou must have approached his face when he wasn't paying attention - the world seemed slightly blurred now that he was thinking about how other things must feel - but now those eyes were mere inches away from his. There wasn't other thing to look at. They were deep and made soft things softer.

And in spite of the eyes capturing his attention, he could tell there was a gleam somewhere else, up, up, up - and then his attention moved back to those glowing eyes that seemed to unravel his mind like a ball of yarn and he dropped down, down, down.

"Zeki is a soft plushy. Say it."

A gentle pressure around his hand. The dragon assumed Buck had squeezed it. At some point the caribou's hand must have stopped petting his head, but he hadn't noticed it.

"Zeki is... s'ft plushy," he droned.

"Come on now, you need to pronounce every word perfectly well. Think about how a good plushy would do it. Again. Zeki is a plushy."

Another squeeze around his hand.

"Zeki is a soft plushy."

"That's a lot better," Buck admitted. The praise made Zeki feel a warm feeling on his belly, right were Buck was petting him affectionately. "Such a soft plushy. Such a good plushy. You're adorable, you know that? We're going to try that again a few times so that you get used to it. But I bet it feels pretty natural to you by now."

Another squeeze.

"Zeki is a soft plushy." The dragon's intonation was practically identical to the last iteration of the sentence.

"Good. Just like that."

Squeeze.

"Zeki is a soft plushy."

"And again."

Squeeze.

"Zeki is a soft plushy."

"Great. See? I told you. You're a natural. It comes so easily at you. But that's because you've always been a really soft plushy, isn't that right?"

Zeki wasn't so sure about that. His mind was swarming with soft feelings and he felt so good, but -squeeze.

"Zeki is a soft plushy."

Yes. That was about right. It made perfect sense in the dragon's wooly mind.

As he watched his friend sink even deeper into his newly-acquired, fluffier state of mind, Buck chuckled softly and shifted his position to gain a better sight of his artwork. The dragon was completely gone by now. Nothing but a sentence in his mind, that he'd repeat constantly if his hand were squeezed.

He'd imagined Zeki would look cute in that predicament, but the results were even more adorable than he'd expected. His hand moved from the dragon's belly to the long, thick tail resting on the couch and he stroked it gently.

Buck was quite proud of the outcome, but he thought he could do better. Even if Zeki's drowsy expression was adorable, he could always aim for something a bit more classic. He wanted a good-looking plushy, after all.

"I bet it feels so good to repeat that," he whispered, his hand going up and down the dragon's tail. "It makes you so happy. Zeki is happy. Isn't that right? Say it."

He gently squeezed the tail.

"Zeki is... happy."

There had been a bit of hesitation in the dragon's sleepy voice. Buck assumed he had felt compelled to repeat the last sentence he'd been told to memorize, and not the new one. However, he suspected enough practice would make things easier for his friend.

As if to prove it, he squeezed Zeki's tail again.

"Zeki is happy."

Then his hand.

"Zeki is a soft plushy."

And his tail again.

"Zeki is happy."

Theeeere we go, the caribou thought, satisfied.

"That's good. I want you to really think about how happy you are. I want you to let it seep into your head. I want a big smile on that face. Do you understand?"

He made sure he squeezed that tail to reinforce his command.

"Zeki is happy."

"Big smile, come on." Squeeze.

"Zeki is happy."

Even the tone in his sentences changed slightly, going from numb to slightly cheerful. Those lips were curving upward, a big dopey grin slowly forming on the dragon's face.

Buck squeezed the tail a few more times.

"Zeki is happy. Zeki is happy. Zeki is happy!"

The last sentence came out more enthusiastically that Buck had expected and he couldn't help but chuckling.

"That's right! You're happy. And you're a soft plushy."

He squeezed the dragon's hand again.

"Zeki is a soft plushy!"

Yeah. That sounds and looks good enough, Buck thought, petting the dragon's head. It sank right between his shoulders like the head of a big, limp plushy, which prompted the caribou to chuckle out loud. How could someone be this cute, he wondered? Sure, hypnosis and conditioning helped a lot, but his friend had gotten into character very easily. It almost felt like the dragon had been born to be a plushy.

Buck stood up and took a good look at his hypnotized friend, who didn't bat an eye. He just remained there, motionless, arms resting on his lap with his hand open, non-verbally asking to be squeezed again. That huge tail of his lay next to those spread legs, curling just slightly at its tip, heavy and motionless. His eyes were glassy and completely unfocused, like they had stopped seeing the world around him a long time ago. The slow movement of his chest as he breathed in and out was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible. The dumb, wide smile on his face seemed to be permanent, as if its owner had gotten lost in an endless, happy dream. Buck was certain if he were to push him gently to one side, Zeki would just drop limply like a rag doll.

All in all, it was difficult to believe the dragon had been anything other than a real-size, adorable cuddle plushy.

Buck's eyes moved to that big tail again. He'd always felt fond of it and he would constantly have to refrain the urge from touching it whenever he was in Zeki's presence. Not now, though. Zeki was his plushy and he could hug it all he wanted. There wasn't anyone on the other side to complain about it, for all it seemed.

The caribou stepped closer and grabbed the heavy tail, hugging it tenderly. It was so soft that it almost made him chuckle again. Yes, Zeki was a good plushy indeed. Such a good plushy that picturing him as anything other than that was beginning to feel ridiculous. Distant, even.

Yes, maybe the dragon had spoken freely in the past, built whole sentences that weren't "Zeki is a soft plushy!" or "Zeki is happy!" but was that really important? Looking at him now, Buck could hardly believe that was the dragon's natural state. No, Zeki had been born a giant plushy. A big, dumb, happy plushy. A plushy for Buck to hug and cuddle all he wanted.

The caribou squeezed that thick tail and felt a wave of relief wash over him. Then, he sat by his plushy's side and squeezed his hand again.

"Zeki is a good plushy!"

The sentence reinforced Buck's idea and made him chuckle again. So cute! He hugged the plushy's body, so soft and nice to the touch that he almost sighed in relief. Yes, how could he possibly believe the dragon had ever been awake at all? It didn't feel natural. Plus, whenever he squeezed his hand...

"Zeki is a good plushy!"

And his tail...

"Zeki is happy!"

If he weren't a happy plushy he wouldn't be saying those words, right? Someone must have programmed them into him. Someone...

Buck's head felt slightly fuzzy as he cuddled with his favorite plushy, but he didn't care. There would be a time when he might worry about things that had happened and what was real and wasn't, but right now he just wanted to cuddle with his big, soft friend and relax for a while.

And Zeki's dopey smile simply gave him that feeling - relax, enjoy, be happy. Yeah. He'd be those things together with his plushy friend. He'd enjoy his company and hug him all he wanted. Soft and content.

The rest could wait until tomorrow.